lillulu

So my question is.

If you are driving down to Ft Lauderdale, then getting on a cruise, ending your cruise at another port and flying back to Ft Lauderdale.

1. Where would you stay?

2. You are flying back late at night so staying at hotel when you arrive back in Ft Lauderdale.

3. Need a shuttle to get to car where ever it is parked at. And a shuttle to port.

4. Is there a place that has a shuttle to port, lets you park your car that long, shuttle to pick you up from airport back to hotel?

Thank you in advance.

That makes sense, then. My friend and I cruise together, but we each use our own separate credit cards for onboard charfges. If he had an emergency, I would not expect my card to be charged. But it's probably in the fine print of the "consent to treat" form that the friend/relative is asked to sign.

I didn't sign anything for him. He was able to do that. But this time he has put his own card up and I have mine up for my daughter and myself.

We honestly didn't expect any charges since we had everything taken care of before we ever got on the ship. Guess that was naive on our part. Lesson learned.

My husband died on NCL Breakaway on 8/25/17 I call 911 at a 5 pm when I couldn’t wake my husband. A nurse came with a wheelchair? I helped put my husband on the floor the nurse called a code and I was pushed out on the balony by the security officer . They move him to the medical facility I was not allowed in the elevator or with my husband. I was asked to feign consent to treat I did .i got up to see as it was taking too long the officer texted them as I was on my way back the dr came out to say he was gone. They moved me to another room a handicap room everytime the phone rang the lights flashed I was missing my glasses and his license when I received my luggage . They left a bill for 10 thousand dollars on my door and charged my credit card. One hour $10,000 . They did nothing for me after that I was left alone from Friday till the ship returned on Sunday. They don’t care about anything but money . FYI cabin 9732

Karuze, I am so so sorry for your loss of your husband. And what you had to endure. Reading this actually makes me want to be able to give you a hug. I know what I experienced so I can only imagine how it was for you. We were lucky enough to have a better outcome even though it was quite stressful. I went back and read OP again. I wonder if because they were in an owners suite if that is why they got such good treatment. We were in just a Veranda Balcony.

lillulu, you should start a new thread with your story, because people are replying to you and to elhenry, the original poster with her April, 2012 thread, and it's getting confusing.

 

I don't understand how NCL could have the authority to charge your credit card for your friend's bills. Doesn't seem right to me.

My card was on the cabin.

It depends. If they are covered by insurance, then no. Otherwise, I would agree. It sounded like the OP wanted reimbursement for all the days missed, as well.

 

 

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No sir, I only wanted back what I had not used. The insurance company told me to contact the cruise line to get reimbursement for my shore excursions, internet, drink package, gratuties, etc. That is where I had the problem. Everyone kept giving me the run around and I never actually got to talk to whom ever this Carmilla was who was suppose to handle it.

Oh my gosh, lillulu, I have no words. I am teary and amazed at your story. What an unimaginable situation, and NCL certainly seems to have dropped the ball. I would have been terrified going through that in a foreign country. What a gift to find helpful people and thank goodness for Capital One (glad to hear that they helped you make the higher credit card charges when needed).

I can't believe NCL never followed up with you.

Thank you for sharing your story. Like the original poster on this thread, these are stories that need to be told.

We never know what could happen on a cruise.

Thank you Rocklinmom. It was scary. I have to add, I had just came out of the make shift chapel they had in the waiting room when the woman approached me. God does answer prayers.

Thank you again to the posters for your words of sympathy on my OP. Although it has been five years, the kind expressions are always appreciated.

 

Lillulu, I am glad to hear that your partner is doing well and recovering, and so sorry to hear about your trials. I know how scary an illness on a cruise can be. I also know, and am grateful for, the fact that if this had to happen to us, it did happen where an American port was the next port of call. I know how much easier, not only the language, but having an actual ships agent who worked for an American company and saw the Jewel every week, smoothed the process.

 

We had travel insurance, and we knew that we would need to incur the costs first, and then be reimbursed by the insurance company. We had no problem with unauthorized charges. In what is now an amusing note, they did not reimburse us for the two days of the cruise that dad was with us. Nor would we expect them to.

 

And on an even better note, for the first time since "Mom's last cruise" to Hawaii, I will be cruising again next year. Sadly, not on NCL, but with the extended family. And we will raise a glass to Mom and Dad.:cool:

Thank you elhenry. I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I am sorry.

I'm happy to hear that you are going to be cruising soon. Have a safe and wonderful trip.

I believe, though it is hard to follow the narrative, that the charges were for the onboard medical treatment, which would go to the charge card linked to the cabin/reservation.

Yes, that is what they did. It was about $4300.00 for the ship medical expenses. I paid more then that for the cruise, the shore excursions, gratuities, drink package, internet package, etc. They got more then what was owed. And then said, he still owed $375.00 and turned him over to a collection agency! Really...I mean seriously.

I did file a claim with the insurance. We actually just got the check for the medical. For the hospital and the ship two days ago. What I didn't know and a lot of people don't know is, depending on what type of insurance you get, you have to submit it to your regular insurance company and then the travel insurance will pick up what they won't pay.

We did not know this as we have never had to file a claim. It's what I call, A lesson learned. But I never dreamed the cruise line would not contact us to see how he was doing or follow up with us. We were just dumped off.

I was more overwhelmed because I had my daughter with me who is handicapped. So, maxing my charge cards after giving them the insurance info was a surprise for me. I had no ideal they had done that.

You have to understand everything was moving so fast, and very chaotic. They were handing all these papers. Asking for my credit card. I had no clue what was going on to be honest with you. The ambulance kept telling them they needed to go. I just feel it was not all handled properly.

We were told he was going to an urgent care in the AM and if the doctor gave him a fit to travel letter we would just get back on the ship. But then I am being told they are taking us off the ship. They took our passports and had already removed our luggage from our cabin. It was crazy!

I'm sure the OP can relate to being in a daze and being confused with all that happens. If we had been in an american port I am sure I would of been more at ease. But, being somewhere we had never been before, not speaking the language and not knowing what was going to happen was the hardest part.

lillulu, you should start a new thread with your story, because people are replying to you and to elhenry, the original poster with her April, 2012 thread, and it's getting confusing.

 

I don't understand how NCL could have the authority to charge your credit card for your friend's bills. Doesn't seem right to me.

I didn't understand it either. The only thing I can think of is I gave my credit card when we got on the ship for any charges we might have incurred. Like buying pictures or something from one of the shops on board. Because EVERYTHING else was pre-paid before we every got on the ship.

First off, I am so very sorry for the lost of your father. And then you end up losing your mother. I'm not sure I could have been as strong as you. .I'm happy that you were treated quite well. Unfortunately I can not say the same. We were not treated as kind on the Norwegian Pearl.

We were on the Pearl last October. We had been at sea for 2 days. We had not even made it to our first port. My guy friend was breathing really weird the night before. The next morning he told me he thought he was coming down with a cold. Saying my daughter and I had the room too cold. It wasn't too cold as we had slept out from under the covers all night.

We got up and went about our day of doing things on the ship. We went back to our room to rest and again he fell asleep and the noise he made I will NEVER forget. It was the same noise my Mother had made right before she had died in my arms.

I insisted he had to go see the ships doctor. The ships doctor said he had a very bad case of pneumonia and needed IV fluids and other stuff. So they started running one. He gave him breathing treatments etc. He then said before we went to bed at night to go ahead and pack our stuff just in case.

I packed up our cabin. They wanted us down there at 7:30 AM so they could run another round of fluids into him and give him a breathing test. The doctor told me they were sending us to an urgent care. We were in Maria Columbia South America. The Doctor said if he got a fit to travel letter we could get back on the ship. He knew nothing about this port but, said the cartagena colombia port we were hitting the next day had a big hospital with american doctors. I actually asked him to not take us off the ship and please let us go to the next port which was Cartagena. We were not transported by ambulance until Midnight that night. We could of stayed on the ship.

They had an ambulance that met the ship the morning we docked in Maria Columbia. The next thing I know is that they inform me that they have removed us from the ship and checked us into Columbia and we can not get back on the ship. (WHAT)??? They are shoving bills in my face and asking me how do I plan to pay them. I told them I had trip insurance but no one was listening to me. The night before the nurse made copies of what I had. I had all insurance information (Blue cross here at home, and the travel insurance we had as well). They maxed my charged card that I had for our cabin on file. And took my other Credit Card and maxed it as well. (unbeknownst to me) I had no clue they had done that. So by them doing that they left me with absolutely no money to get back home or to take care of stuff while in Columbia. All I had was the cash money I had on me. Only to find out they do not take US dollars. What a nightmare.

The young lady who supposedly worked for the port authority didn't really work for them I found out later. Her and her driver friend ripped me off $150.00 probably more when changed to peso;s. I gave them $400.00 to turn into peso's they asked me if I could give $50.00 more. So, I did. When they got to what was the bank, they told me it was better if just he went in that it was not safe. When I looked at my receipt later it showed they only gave money for $300.00. My word against theirs. After they ripped me out of the money they never came back to the hospital like they were suppose to. I have to add that I trusted these people and also bought them lunch for helping me out. I also gave tip money to them. I was told that they worked for the port authority. I found out later from the US Embassy they are scammers who try to take over your insurance claims and collect the money.

I finally got help from this wonderful Columbian lady who was married to an American who was in the ICU where my friend was. She approached me and asked if she could help me. I told her I need to contact the US Embassy. She helped me Contact them. (This lady actually translated what the doctor was telling me as well.. She was so wonderful and a God send.) The first words out of their mouths at the Embassy was, We have no money to help you but we can help you get in touch with family and friends to help you. Norwegian Pearl just left us there. When we got to urgent care I am being told by a translator that he has had a heart attack. We went from being told, he has pneumonia to, he has had a heart attack , He needs a heart catherization, and we have to transfer him by ambulance to Barranquilla Columbia. He was in the intensive care for 6 days.

I had 3 wonderfu people show up from the US Embassy to help us. Ms. Vicky lived in Barranquilla Columbia. And the other 2 Dan and his lovely wife came from Cartegena. I was so over whelmed to have someone who spoke English and also was there to help me get him back to the US.

Our trip insurance doctors got on the phone with the doctors in Columbia. They were trying to figure out if he would be able to fly. They sent a nurse from ON Call. She acessed him and talked to the other doctors in the US. Finally were going home.

I had to pay the hospital bill before we could leave. (oh no, where am I going to get this mony). Then they inform me I have to pay for my daughter and myselfs airfare to get back to the states. I knew I wanted to leave when that nurse left with him and not have my daughter and I stuck there.

I got on the phone and called my credit card company. ( I am diabled and so I don't have high credit limits), I've never cried so hard when I heard the lady on the other end of the phone telling me, "We got you, Don't worry about anything, We got you" Capital one I can NEVER Thank them enough. Who does that. I had no ideal how much the hospital bill would be, How much our plane tickets would cost but I've got this lady telling me, We got you! Even gave me a supervisors number if I had any problems.

The doctors and Nurses in Columbia were great! Me standing in the hall crying and the nurse comes over and talks to me with a translater through her phone. I was so upset I never thought of that. We are still friends with this nurse.

He had his open heart surgery in January and I am happy to say he is doing great now. The surgery wasn't so great as he cold blue 4 times. He ended up on the ventilater for 11 days. It was a very long road. Cardiac rehab, all kinds of things we had to do.

We are getting ready to leave next week on another cruise in hope that NOTHING goes wrong.. We are still trying to get that relaxing vacation we tried to have when all of this happened, I had a brain tumor removed, 2 weeks later I lost my mother, He had to have hernia surgery, Then I had to have knee replacement surgery. We were trying to take care of both of our 80 yr old fathers. Mine living further away then his living in the state we live in.

And this is the sour part of. all of this, Nowregian Cruise Lines has not reimbursed a dime of our money! No one even bothered to call to see if he was ok or if we even made it back into the states. I had the cruise paid in full. Gratuities paid in full. Shore excursions paid in full. Drink package paid in full. They kept all of that money and then charged both of my charge cards. One over the max they allowed so I was charged a over limit fee. I've called several times to finally be told 2 things.

1. Go to this websight and put your 350 character story here and someone will bet back with you. (Still waiting. Almost a year of waiting).

2. They transferred me to Carmilla (she's who I am suppose to talk to I guess) Never heard a word from this lady.

The one and only call we have received from Norwregian Cruise :Lines, is to inform him that he has been turned over to a collection agency because he owes $375.00. I have to add they were giving the information for our Travel insurance that I had purchased.

I'm sorry, I am not married to this person. But they took my daughter and my money to pay his medical bills. They took my gratuity money towards his bill, my shore excursion money, our drink package money, our cruise fare and port cost.

I'm pretty angry with them to be honest. I got on their ship on a Sunday, and Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM I was taken off their ship with all my luggage and everything and left in Columbia. We were on a 12 days cruise..

I hope and pray this does not happen to other passangers.

OP, Again I am so so sorry about the lost of your father. I'm Thankful that you were as strong as you were to be there for your mother. Hugs my friend.

When you arrive turn your cell phone on and it will set to the local time.

Thank you! Wish I would of thought of that. Duh me.

LOL, I told you I was confused. So we gain an hour during the night. Tour company just wants me to make sure I am on Aruba time not ship time to meet them.

I have a question. When we are in Aruba the time changes the morning of for us, November 5th. Can anybody tell me what time the ship will be on? I'm a little confused on all of this. I booked a private tour and they are working on Aruba time, So I just want to make sure I am on time and not late with us also losing an hour during the night. I am to meet my private tour at 1:30 PM Aruba time and they will return us to the ship at 5:30 PM Aruba time. We are in port from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM.

Thanks in advance.

Does anyone have a list of the currant movies showing now?

Thanks in advance.

I came across this post while looking for what to do in Aruba. Just reading the excitement and enjoyment everyone had made me inquire. I am waiting to hear back to see if they are available when I am in port. I have asked to book the 2pm - 5pm. Pick up at 1:30PM and dropped back at our ship at 5:30PM.

We were on the Koningsdam for Halloween last year. There were a few things decorated, most notably the passenger services desk was all done up in spider webs and had candy to hand out. Some passengers went all out with their costumes - most notable to me was a lady in a great Cleopatra costume. The number of people with costumes was low. We just had devil-horn headbands that we wore- we got lots of funny comments about them.

We will also be on the Koningsdam. Will just make our own fun if there is nothing going on. The last Halloween one we did was on Carnival 2010. I was little red riding hood, my friend was the big bad wolf. We had a great time. This time I will have my daughter with me.

We have been on a cruiseship three times at Halloween. One HAL, and two Princess. All three we have dressed up, decorated the door, passed out candy, and had halloween decorations in the room. On HAL they had a halloween dance after dinner in the Crow's nest, and there were not hundreds there, but there was enough to make it a party. The DJ and the Cruise Director made it a lot of fun. One Princess Ship went all out- They had set up a haunted house and everything. Had the Photography Station with a Halloween background, etc. On both ships the dining room staff dressed up for Halloween (Yes, Superman was serving dinner :D). Also both ships asked if we wanted to sit at dinner with others in costume, so that was fun too. All three had dances for Halloween.

 

I am of the opinion that you should do everything fun that all of you would enjoy. The room stewards all had a chuckle too, and joined in on our frivolities, and one we "played a trick on" his words- When we put Skull pillowcases on the bed.

 

If you are not leaving from your homeport and need to fly, there are 99 cent and Dollartree's usually near the port. Halloween decorations can be bought there and left on the ship, or take fun lightweight stuff, and if you need to can leave on the ship.

 

Below attached is the picture of why the room steward thought we were tricking him. I don't know why it isn't coming up, so you'll have to click on it.

 

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This is awesome!!! Sounds and looks like something I myself would have done. I already have the decorations. But thinking of those skeltons makes me want to tease with our room steward. Thank you for the information.

It really depends on the ship, captain, hotel manager and cruise director.

We have been on ships where all they had were a few decorations in the Lido and a few crew members had a pumpkin contest and passengers voted on the best one.

Other ships had the Lido and dining room decorated.

Very few passengers dressed up. Club HAL will have something for the children.

Around 9 PM on a couple of ships there was a pub crawl followed by a dance in the Crow's Nest.

Thank you for your quick reply. My handicapped daughter is 30 years old so they will not let her participate in the kids stuff. I wish they would have she functions as a second grader. I went through a horrible ordeal with Carnival years ago. I find on Holland she can get into the swimming pools and not be jumped on or dunked under and can enjoy herself as there seem to not be as many kids. We try to find things to keep her occupied so she does not get bord.

So, for our cruise they did say they would have a masquerade ball. Does anyone have experience with this? Just wondering if we should bring anything special for this, or really what it is? Do you know what it really is? Just a mask???

Hello,

I am tying to find out what they actually do on a ship for Halloween if anything at all.

One of my fellow cruises posted this on our roll call but never really got any answer. So, I thought I might post it here and find out.

I asked a bit ago about Halloween on the ship. I did call Holland America and they said the big thing they do on the cruise for Halloween is a masquerade ball. Does anyone have experience with this? Just wondering if we should bring anything special for this, or really what it is?

I plan on decorating my door for Halloween even though I know some frown upon door decorations. I have a special needs child and she enjoys it as I decorate our cabin as well. On another ship(different line) I even brought candy to hand out. There were a lot of kids on that ship but, It was the adults who kept asking for candy lol. I didn't mind, I had plenty to go around. *I'm kind of a jokester at times. So, I had condoms for the single men and woman that were on the cruise* They got a kick out if it. I didn't have many of those left I must say. Hahahahaaaa

Our Oct 28 Nieuw Amsterdam cruise stop at San Juan has been moved to Punta Cana. That should be interesting. The one time I was there on a land trip, there wasn't much to do other than enjoy the beach at the resort.

Our cruise on the MS Koningsdam has also been moved to here from San Juan. They haven't offered any shore excursions as of yet. And I can't seem to find anything here either. We're also going to Amber Cove. I have been on a land trip to Puerto Plate. Was excited to see Punta Cana side. But losing that excitement fast not finding anything.:(

What is your sail date and itinerary? Some itineraries take you into calmer and less windy ports, others not so much. We sailed through The Bay of Biscay on our Med cruise on Kdam this May. We were prepared for very choppy/windy conditions as is the norm for this area. However, it was a non-event. Even the Captain, who had pre-warned us the day before, said he had never seen The Bay so calm. So you never know! The rest of the cruise for 14 nights was very calm seas. Have a wonderful cruise on Kdam........a gorgeous ship and our favourite HAL ship.

October 29th. I just got off the phone with Holland. We got it straightened out. Not happy I had to pay $80.00 more but I sure did not want to be sick the whole cruise. Itinerary, Amber Cove, San Juan, Bonaire, Curaco, Aruba.We hit rough seas one year going to San Juan on the Veendam and pretty much everyone was feeling sick. They were going wall to wall down the hallway. I had people tell me they had never felt or been sicke except that particular sailing. Thank you and we are so looking forward to it.

We sailed on the K this past June in a Vista Suite mid ship on the bump out. It was heaven. The experience was very smooth. If you are sensitive to the ship's movement, look for mid ship and low.

 

Prior to this we had sailed on the NA and in a forward cabin. We felt quite a bit of movement.

 

After comparing the two experiences, we have decided that we will only now sail mid ship and will make sure to select "do not upgrade" on our booking. :-)

I wish I had done that. We were Midship but now they moved us and our cabin is no longer available when I looked. The ship is almost at capacity.

Yes, you would feel more motion in cabins high and forward if you are sensitive to the motion of the ocean. Tends to be more windy, as well. I doubt if you would be bothered by the dome, either.

 

FYI Koningsdam not Koningsdamn.......lol

Thank you for the quick answer back. I am sensitive to motion. I take bonine the whole cruise just to make it through. I purchased a VB and it said we could get upgraded, when I got my paperwork it showed they had me in a YQ on the Sun deck. I pray I will be alright because our cruising date is pretty much full. That damn get's me every time LOL :D

Where would be the worst place to have a cabin on the Koningsdamn?

I am worried about being upgraded from a VB to a YQ On the Sun Deck. Would you be able to hear that Dome over the pool open up every single day and close? If there are rough seas, do you feel quite a bit of motion?

Thank you in advance.

Thanks lillulu for the info. I have seen many posts recommending taking a taxi into town. That may be what we end up doing. Hope you have a great cruise. We leave on Nov 7 so if you're back in time, add a post to this thread letting me know what you ended up doing. We've been to Cartagena twice so have taken tours to see the popular sites. Looking for something a little different and a bit more independent.

This was my second email with them.

Good Evening,

I guess I am not explaining myself very well. Our ship is not offering the bus to us. So, I went to your page to book. It gave me two different prices. $20.00 is on the page. At the bottom of the page it says, Cruise port information. So I clicked on that. The information for Cruise ship port is $39.00. When I went to purchase the tickets it did not offer the price of the $39.00 to catch it from the cruise port. So,

1. Does this mean we can not catch it at the cruise ship dock?

2. We need to hail a cab to Stop 2 to be able to get on the bus?

3. If we get on at Stop 2 is there a bus that will take us back to the port or do we need to get another cab?

4. If we get on at the port dock, does this same bus do the 90 minutes, then we have to get off for city tour and back to the port?

5. Do you happen to know what it cost for a cab to stop 2? There are 3 of us.

6.Can I purchase the Hop on Hop off at the pier? and if so, Do I have to return at a certain time to get the bus back to the pier?

7. If I take the taxi to stop 2 to embark on the bus, does the same bus also stop at the cruise ship dock? If so, do they care if I get off at the cruise ship dock even though I paid the lower price?

We are trying to get on the bus at the port dock. But, if this is not possible then I will hail a cab to stop 2.

Thank you for your time and patience with me.

This was their answer back,

Good Morning,

Thank you for your email.

Yes you would need to make your own way to stop 2 from the cruise port, via local transport to take the tour. After you have taken the tour again you would need to make your own way back to the port. Unfortunately it will be a local charge on the taxi, we do not have a costing for this.

Kind regards,

I had even had inquired with NCL.

My post today in our roll call (still laughing by the way) since I had already purchased our tickets.

Oh how funny! I had contacted the bus line about doing this. (I just got an answer back from them on Oct 18th, and another today because I had more questions). I was trying to figure out if we could get on at the port or where we had to go. I was asked by the bus company if this was offered as an excursion through our ship. I told her no. I called NCL and inquired if they would sell tickets for this at the port. I was told it was not offered.

Today it showed up as one of our NCL shore excursions for $45.00.

I'm sorry just shaking head and laughing. God it's a glorious day today.

I still didn't get all of my answers. But, at least I know where I have to go and board the bus. And we will just be hailing a cab back to port as well. As I called NCL and was informed that I could not get on at the port nor could I ride it back to port because I had not purchased through them. (Spoke with a man name Mike). I might add he was quite rude. No need for that. I inquired before ever buying our tickets. *shrugs*

I also wanted to add. Their tour is 4 hours. So you have a limited time in that 4 hours to see what you want before heading back to the port. And they do not do the whole loop (per Mike at NCL). And you can NOT get on the bus if your ticket is NOT purchased through us. (Ok, I get it Mike, have a good day). :D

I will try to remember to post. We don't get back til Nov 4th and then we are heading to another place then towards home. I will try to remember though.